Makkah crane victims to get 1m riyals each

Manama: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud on Tuesday ordered that the families of those killed in Friday’s crane collapse at the Grand Mosque in Makkah each be paid one million riyals in compensation.

The families of those who suffered permanent injuries will also be paid one million riyals each, the king ordered.

Those who sustained less serious injuries will receive 500,000 riyals, according to the royal order.

The financial compensation does not rule out the possibility for the victims or their families to file lawsuits.

The injured worshippers who are physically unable to perform pilgrimage this year will be invited for next year’s pilgrimage as hosts of the king.

Relatives of those hospitalised will be given special visas to visit them and stay with them until the end of the pilgrimage season, which will end on September 28.

Two relatives of each victim will be hosted by King Salman to perform pilgrimage next year, according to the royal order.

The compensations are part of wide-ranging decisions issued at the conclusion of the investigation launched immediately after the collapse of the giant crane on Friday afternoon when the Grand Mosque was teeming with thousands of worshippers, and in which 107 were killed and 238 were injured.